Australia captain Michael Clarke has hit back at claims from Jason Gillespie that England may be able to take advantage of his side's age in the upcoming Ashes series.

Former Australia seamer Gillespie last week stated that England should look to pressure the ageing members of the tourists' team, such as the 34-year-old Clarke, 35-year-old bowler Ryan Harris and Chris Rogers, 37.

Yorkshire coach Gillespie - who had been linked with the England coaching position before Trevor Bayliss was appointed last month - described Australia as 'Dad's Army', a reference to the television sitcom about the British Home Guard during the Second World War.

Gillespie insisted his comments were misinterpreted on Sunday, posting on his Twitter account: "An observation that Oz is an ageing team and something that Eng could look to use to their advantage gets blown all out of proportion.

"Calm down everyone. Sport is about finding ways to get on top of the opposition- I suggested that may be a way in for Eng."

"There's a long list of people who've criticised this team. We might just add 'Dizzy' [Gillespie] to that list of people we continue to prove wrong.

"A lot of our young players have come a long way over the last few years. The senior players deserve a lot of credit for mentoring them and helping them through the tough times, and we're seeing a lot of benefit from that.

"They will play a big role in this series, their youth and enthusiasm is vital to our squad. The experience of the senior players is crucial too and hopefully we can find that perfect mix and we're able to have success."

Clarke was fined 20 per cent of his match fee for sledging James Anderson in the first Test of Australia's 5-0 whitewash of England in the last series after telling the bowler to "get ready for a f****** broken arm".

Pressed on the topic of sledging, Clarke added: "I'm confident it will be played in the right spirit. Both teams will play hard.

"We respect that there's a line you can't cross. Both teams might head-butt that line but I'm confident we won't overstep the mark.

"As captain, I'll make sure I'm leading the way on that front and I'm confident the boys will follow."